Soft-tread horseshoe.



No. 687,824. Patented Dec. 3, l90l. W. T. FRENCH.

SOFT TREAD HLDRSESHOE.

(Application filed Nov. 23, 1900.)

(N0 Model.)

witnesses H h w@ Q f Q W hi'sAUuI'mBy UNITED STATES PATENT omen.

WILLIAM T. FRENCH, OF GREENVILLE, OHIO.

SOFT-TREAD HORSESHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 687,824, dated December3, 1901.

Application filed November 23, 1900. Serial No. 37,455. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM T. FRENCH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Greenville, in the county of Darke and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Soft-Tread Horseshoes,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of horseshoes which have a separabletread-surface adapted to be attached and removed by the user whendesired.

The object of my invention is to improve and simplify this class ofshoes by the peculiar construction of the bed and cushion and the meansfor securing them together.

My invention consists in a horseshoe comprising a metal bed orfoundation having a groove on its lower side and adapted to receive anelastic cushion having embedded lengthwise therein a strengthening-wire,said cushion being secured and held in place upon the bed by means oftransverse screws or bolts taking through the bed and cushion beneaththe wires, substantially as shown.

My invention also consists in certain novel features of theconstruction, combination, and arrangement of the several parts of myimproved shoe, whereby important advantages are secured and the shoe isrendered the shoe.

more convenient economical, and effective and better adapted for thepurpose intended.

The novel features of the invention will be defined in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, which serve to illustrate my invention,Figure 1 is a top plan view of the shoe. Fig. 2 is a view ofthe bottom,showing the parts secured together and a portion of the elastic treadbroken away to show the strengthening-wires embedded therein. Fig. 3 isan edge View of Fig. 4 is a cross-section of the shoe, showing one meansof fastening. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the shoe between the bolts,showing a modified flange and cushion, and also shows the shoe whenconstructed with solid flanges and having the rubber cushion held inengagement with the bed by frictional contact and without anycross-bolts. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the cushion,strengthening-wire, and transverse opening to receive the holding screwor bolt.

I prefer to construct and arrange lny-irnproved shoe substantially asfollows:

The bed or foundation A is constructed of metal or other hard substancein circular shape to conform to the shape of a horses foot and providedon its lower side with in nor and outer depending flanges a, whichextend its entire length and form a channel or groove thereunder.

The elastic cushion or tread portion B of the shoe is composed of rubberor other elastic material having molded longitudinally therein a metalwire or plate I) to strengthen and support the cushion in its properrelation to the bed, said cushion being formed to take into and fit thechannel in the bed and having a tread-surface extending some distancebelow the flange of the bed.

The depending flanges are provided with a number of transverse holes 0.,preferably seven, and the cushion with a corresponding number of holesI) to register with said holes and receive bolts or screws 0 to securethe parts together. The transverse openings in the cushion are formedjust below the longitudinal strengthening-wires, as shown in Fig. 6, sothat when the parts are together and bolts or screws in place theportions of the cushion between the transverse screws are held incontact with the bed and prevented from sagging, as shown in Fig. 5.When it is desired to use screws, the inner holes should be providedwith screw-threads and the outer flange provided with circularcountersinks to receive the screw-heads. When bolts are used, the holesin the flange are smooth to permit the bolt to pass through withoutturning, and the outer flange is preferably provided with a squarecountersink a to receive a squareheaded bolt and permitted to fit flushwith the outer surface of the flange, the inner end of the boltprojecting through the inner flange and adapted to have a nut screwedthereon.

The depending flanges may be formed straight, as shown in Fig. 4:, andthe cushion tapered to form a space between it and each flange, or, ifdesired, the flanges may be curved outwardly at their lower inner edges,as shown in Fig. 5, to form a space between each flange and the cushionto prevent the cushion, when being compressed, from being cut by theedges of the flanges.

I also construct the bed with solid flanges having fiat parallel innerWalls, into which I compress a solid-rubber cushion extending the entirelength of the shoe, the same being retained therein by frictionalengagement with the flat parallel walls of the channel.

The cushion may be formed with a curved or flat tread-surface and mayextend only slightly below the flanges or a considerable distance belowthem, as may be desired.

In use the bed or foundation A is first nailed to the hoof, after whichthe cushion or tread part B is placed in the channel and secured by themeans above described. When the cushion becomes worn, it may be readilyremoved and replaced by a new one by simply removing and replacing thescrews or bolts.

From the above description it will be obvious that my improved shoe iscapable of some modification without material departure from the scopeof my invention, and for this reason I do not wish to be understood aslimiting myself to the precise form and arrangement of the several partsset forthas, for example, the strengthening-wires embedded in thecushion may be varied in number and shape, as desired, or may be omittedaltogether.

Having thus described my invention, I claim A horseshoe comprising a bedor foundation having downwardly-extending flanges forming a groove orchannel on the lower side of said bed the full length thereof, anelastic cushion adapted to take into and fit said channel and having alongitudinal strengtheningwire loop embedded therein, and made U- shapedat each end as shown and means for securing the bed and cushiontogether, substantially as set forth.

WILLIAMT. FRENCH.

Witnesses:

JAMES N. RAMSEY,

RICHARD PHILLIPS.

